yo, that question about neighbors is something i’m going to start writing about a lot more.

basically that’s the single biggest factor for us moving here. it’s not that patagonia is ‘better’, it’s just that we didn’t want layla to have to grow up in a culture where you have to schedule a ‘play-date’ to be with a friend.

down here it’s just a different culture than in the us.

three days ago i called ‘out of the blue’ the guy here who’s been running float trips on the local river for the last 16 years. i was like ‘che, i just moved into town and am a lifelong paddler and just wanted to meet some river folks.’

he was like ‘sweet, are you on your way to town? yes? ok, i’ll meet you in 15 minutes.’

he was ready to take me down the river that day. i couldn’t do it, so he invited me the next day where his whole family was there, plus all the local guides, boaters. it was a total family celebration and i was fully ‘in’.

now i’m not saying a flow like this couldn’t occur in the US, but the difference is that down here (Argentina) this is the default mode of the people. they just pour it on. when you meet someone it’s instantly ‘whatever you need… mi casa es tu casa.’

and the kids still roam the streets.

back in the US, at least in the places I’ve lived, this culture of trust, of freedom, just isn’t there. it’s a different culture, and to be straight up, we want our daughter to have to grow up with that being her default mode.

so yeah, neighbors. i could ‘satirize’ the whole thing and talk about how they’re always coming over and the place turns into a muddy floor circus. . . but fuck it, that just speaks to the bourgeoisie that’s used to living a sanitized life.

every day these kids harvest something (right now it’s lettuce), they bring us some.